Lubavitcher Rebbe (Own Works)

Introduction Our Sages teach, Berachos 12a. “Everything follows the conclusion.” It follows that if we want to understand the fundamental message of the Torah, we should look to its conclusion. Rashi interprets the final words of the Torah as referring to...

Introduction Moshe knew that this was to be the last day of his life. For more than a month, he had been speaking to the Jewish people, communicating his farewell message. He had appointed Yehoshua as his successor and, together with him, taught the peopl...

Introduction Parshas Vezos HaBerachah is read on Simchas Torah, the holiday celebrated by spirited dancing, rejoicing with the Torah in a manner that knows no bounds. These celebrations are not highlighted by Torah study but rather by dancing with the Tor...

Introduction He was not the typical chassid. A well-mannered, refined English gentleman who for many years did not wear a full beard, Reb Zalmon Jaffe did not fit the conventional image of a chassid. Nevertheless, as documented in his memoirs (http://www....

Introduction Commenting on the opening verse of this week’s parshah, Devarim 32:1. “Give ear, O heavens… hear, O earth,” the Sifri states, “Since Moshe was close to the heavens, he said, ‘Give ear, O heavens,’ [using a term that implies closeness], and be...

Introduction The Sifri interprets the verse, Devarim 32:1. “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth,” as teaching that Moshe appointed heaven and earth as witnesses regarding the Jews’ observance of the Torah and its mi...

Introduction Perhaps the most difficult thing for anyone to bear in a relationship is indifference, the feeling that a loved one has turned away, as if what is happening does not matter to him or to her. For this reason, the prophecy, Devarim 31:18. “I wi...

Introduction No Jew is a one-dimensional being. Beyond the individual identity that we each possess, we are part of the Jewish people as a collective and our conduct affects not only ourselves, but the entire Nation of Israel as a whole. While true at all...